Veteran actor Choi Bool-am was laid to rest on November 2 after a funeral Mass in Seoul, closing days of public mourning for the performer long known as Korea’s “national father.” News1 reported that the Mass followed a private departure ceremony earlier that morning.
The departure ceremony was held at 7:40 a.m. and was not open to the public. The funeral Mass followed at 9 a.m. at Yeouido Church, presided over by Cardinal Andrew Yeom Soo-jung. Popera singer Lim Hyung-joo sang “Ave Maria” during the service as a tribute to the late actor.
The celebrant reflected a long personal connection. News1 reported that Cardinal Yeom had visited Choi in his hospital room on October 20 to administer the anointing of the sick, and that Choi had received baptism from Cardinal Yeom in 2018.
After the Mass, the procession stopped at ChildFund Korea headquarters in Mugyo-dong, central Seoul, before heading to the burial ground. Choi was then buried at Donghwa Memorial Park. The stop had been announced in advance as Choi’s final wish, honoring his decades-long association with the children’s welfare organization.
The funeral was conducted as a ChildFund Korea funeral, with chairman Hwang Young-ki heading its committee. Mourners who visited the funeral hall included veteran performers Kim Hye-ja, Na Moon-hee and Yoo In-chon, alongside political figures and cultural officials. Culture Minister Choi Hwi-young had visited on October 30, when the government posthumously awarded Choi the Geumgwan Order of Cultural Merit, South Korea’s highest cultural honor.
Choi died late on October 29 at a hospital in Seoul’s Gangseo District while receiving treatment. He was 87. His funeral hall was set up at Seoul Asan Hospital in Songpa District on October 30, where mourners paid their respects in the days before the November 2 service.
Choi became a household name through MBC’s “Chief Investigator,” which ran from 1971 to 1989 across 880 episodes, and later through the rural drama “Country Diaries,” which cemented his father-figure image. He also hosted KBS 1TV’s “Korean Table” for many years, while his charity work with ChildFund Korea shaped much of his public life outside acting.
No additional official statement was issued alongside the funeral reports. With the Mass, procession and burial complete, the public mourning for one of Korean television’s defining performers has come to an end.
